Shatter The Dawn
by Dark Flamingo
Summary: He's not going to close his eyes, because if he does, the boy's going to disappear with the wind, and leave him with another lonely morning. LeonRiku


Whew, first time writing this pairing, first ever time seriously writing Leon, and Riku _not_ as some sort of philosophical metaphor. I'm not sure yet if I like this, but I wanted to post something. So here it is.

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Riku wakes with a rough hand clasped loosely around his own, scarred palm scratching scarred palm, opening his eyes to the midnight sky. Somewhere nearby the fire has burned itself down to a smoldering, choking pile of charred wood, and even farther away the trees whistle softly to the wind.

For a long time he doesn't move, instead choosing to stare up at the brilliant sky, littered with thousands of stars, thousands of worlds, winking and sparkling in the deep blackness of the universe. Beside him, he can hear the man's slow and even breathing out into the night and the gentle sound is such a perfect addition to the landscape it takes effort to notice it.

But notice it he does, and slowly he rolls his head over to look at the man, the grass whispering little secrets in his ear as he does. The man is also on his back, spare arm slung lifelessly over his eyes, mouth a firm line under his nose. Peeking out from the loose neck of his white shirt are the beginnings of muscles, his taunt stomach rising and falling with each breath.

He grumbles something in his sleep, fingers twitching, grasping at the empty air, before settling back down. Riku feels a smile pulling at his mouth and does little to smother it. In his sleep, even proud, strong, Leon is childishly innocent.

Slowly, careful not to disturb the hand around his own, Riku sits up in the rustling grass, blue eyes seeking out the horizon. Tendrils of sunlight peek over the treetops and he knows it's time to leave. By the fire his shirt is crumpled, the night before he opted to wear merely his jeans, since sleep never would visit him unless cold had seeped into his skin.

Leon works opposite him that way, warmth is something he craves, and slips from him, so whenever he releases the boy from his hold, the cold that rushes to Riku's lonely skin is fierce and unfamiliar.

Slowly, Riku makes to slip his hand out of Leon's, and the man grumbles, his fingers clasping around Riku's like a bear-trap. "It's too early," Leon moans, and Riku feels his skin bristle with goose bumps at the man's voice, and warm breath slithering over his arm.

"Go back to sleep then," Riku urges softly, leaning in so Leon can taste his breath. Jerkily, Leon lifts his arm from his eyes, passing the boy a cold glare that doesn't match the warmth running into Riku's fingers.

"If I do you'll sneak off," He says, moving his free hand to his mouth as he tries to suppress a yawn. Riku chuckles and leans over the man, long pale hair shielding the two from the prying eyes of the forest.

"You've got work to do, you need sleep," Riku tells him, lips quirked in a faint smile. Leon tries not to get distracted by Riku's cool thumb tracing patterns over the back of his hand. Instead his eyebrows draw together into a frown.

"So do you," He points out, raising his hand to flick some of the boy's over-grown bangs from his bright eyes. Distractedly Riku begins to draw circles on the man's stomach with his free hand, relishing in every shiver Leon gives him. Never has Riku been able to keep his hands off him, and never has Leon been able to stop enjoying it.

To Leon's comment Riku only offers a small smile, letting him know that he expects little trouble that day, only more wandering and occasional fighting. Even if something problematic was on the way, Riku would never let the man know, worrying was what Leon was good at, second best to fighting.

Leon sighs heavily, the boy was stubborn when he wanted to be, and in a noticeably defeated voice asks, "When'll you be back?" Riku smothers a smug smile and leans down, closing the small gap left between them, and softly presses his lips onto Leon's. His free hand crawling up from his stomach to cradle his strong jaw, cold fingers skittering over the man's warm skin.

Leon raises his arm so his fingers tangled loosely in Riku's silvery hair, before curling his hand around the others' neck and pulling him deeper into his wanting mouth. A content hum vibrates through the kiss, neither one sure who started it, as their prying tongues seek out the familiar territory of one another's mouth.

Slowly Riku pulls out of the kiss, resting his lips on Leon's so they just barely touch. "Soon," Riku whispers onto the man's skin, cracking open his eyes to drink in the sight of Leon's lightly flushed face and distant eyes.

His eyes tighten, a protesting _you always say that_ on the edge of his lips before Riku jerks away, his cold hand slipping out from Leon's burning hot one. He blinks up at the sky and then leisurely pushes himself up into a sitting position. No where is any sign of the boy, his discarded clothes that Leon had been willing to help with were missing but for a slight disturbance in the grass.

There are no footsteps indicating a departure and even the strong smell of sandy beaches that Riku carries is quickly vanishing on the gentle breeze dancing with the grass. Leon sighs and runs a hand through his thick hair.

The morning is like so many, too many, mornings he woke to find Riku already gone, slipped off while he was still sleeping, the faintest taste of the ocean lingering on his lips. But unlike so many mornings alone Leon finds himself actually wondering if Riku would be back. The way the sun was rising had a finality to it, and Leon can't help but feel that it would be many a morning before he'd wake up to even the smallest trace of the boy.

Grumbling to the listening wind about smug jail-bait boys who aren't worth half the trouble they cause, Leon sets about clearing out the last of the fire, wondering listlessly if he was just worrying too much.

He wasn't. And on the last breath of morning air the small scraps of a whispered promise curl into his ear.


End file.
